Lots of threads...I've scanned a bunch. Hopefully these questions aren't redundant.

1) Do you racers (not club rides) actually race with the Garmin Edge etc? Seems like a big unit to leave on a bike during a race, not to mention you really don't need navigation?

2) I see a lot of threads on the Garmin products but hardly any mention of the Polar Products like the Polar CS600. Am I missing something here or are people bypassing the Polar products for Garmin these days?

3) Are the feature offered by the high end Polar Products that much more useful in HRM training or is it all bells and whistles? Am I comparing apples to oranges here?

My situation is this...I do a lot of club rides but also plan on doing a bunch of racing next year. I already own a Garmin 76S which I think would be nice to throw in a pouch every now and then for planning rides, but I can't see really needing a GPS but maybe 10-20% of the time. After you know you're routes and for races it seems like excess. So I'm thinking my Garmin 76S is enough (size of a calculator)?

That leaves me with a HRM solution still and a solid cyclometer. I'm thinking either a wrist version or a mounted version like the Polar 400/600 if the benefits from these better HRM solutions are all they promise to be. Or better yet..maybe just go simple and buy a wrist HRM and a nice cyclometer would work....



I'm a techie so the gadets are nice....I'm just curious about how much use/need I'd get out of them being a group rider and racer. Trying to get some advice on what would work best given my riding goals of road racing and club rides. I'm guessing thats why so many people opt for the nice garmins? You get a GPS/HRM/Cyclometer all in one unit. My only question I guess then is would it be fit for racing or is it way overkill? That and am I passing up important training features of the Polar 600?

Thanks

I don't know if Polar links up with computerized analysis software or not. The Garmin Edge series does that easily.

I have a Polar HRM (F11) and a cyclocomputer (Cateye Strada Cadence), but find I like the integration of the Edge 305 (with HRM and cadence) with my computer. That's probably the main draw of the Garmin series. If you use analysis software, then you would probably benefit from the Garmin, regardless of your type of riding.

Example analysis software:
1) Garmin Training Center (http://tinyurl.com/5ubl5q) (PC based)
2) MotionBased (http://tinyurl.com/ys69j5) (web based)
3) Garmin Connect (http://tinyurl.com/6rno2g) (still being developed)
4) SportTracks (http://tinyurl.com/nm7z6) (PC based)
5) Ascent (http://tinyurl.com/2zewvp) (for the Mac)
6) CycliStats (http://tinyurl.com/6bfj5a) (PC based)
7) ... I'm sure there are others.

I have a Garmin 305 and I like it quite well. It's a little larger than some other cycle-comps, but not prohibitively so. I think the out-of-the-box Polar software is better for training, but there are lots of freeware programs for the Garmin that even the score.

For what you're doing, you could probably get by with either one and like it just fine. Polar's calculations for calories burned are closer to real world, but that may not be a deciding factor for you either if you use one of the other programs. The 305s are getting marked down pretty well too with the 605/705 being out.

I would opt for the 305 just because you can use the GPS when you want to and ignore it when you don't. But both companies make top notch units.

1. Yes I race cat3s with it, about 50x/yr. It's nice seeing where, when, and on what terrain the hard efforts came. It makes creating training plans easier because I get to mimic race situations. Specificity!

2. I traded my Polar for the Edge 305 (and now, Edge 705). It was much more intuitive and feature-packed.

3. There are no better training features presented by Polar, that I know of. The training should be created on your own, and the garmin has everything you would need for it.

Also, GPS is nice to guesstimate how long it will take you to get home, especially on new rides. You can plan new routes, which is great for killing the boredom of repeated routes. When I'm in Madison, WI, I just go out and ride and then find my way home via GPS. I can mark good hills or routes and repeat them without forgetting (which is easy on a 4hr ride). I'm also lucky enough to go on a training camp in North Carolina every spring...and the Garmin was probably the only thing more useful than a power meter while there. Elevation, getting home, gradient, etc. Truly awesome.

Simply put, you won't regret buying one and spending the extra money on it.